Thousands of anti-government demonstrators clashed with Thai police and military troops trying to prevent them from leaving the capital’s commercial district yesterday to stage protests elsewhere in Bangkok.
The demonstrators pushed against police lines and pelted riot squads with eggs and plastic water bottles along a tree-lined boulevard in front of the Four Seasons Hotel.
Protest leaders have defied a government order to vacate the commercial heart of Bangkok as they try to pressure Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to relinquish power. They vowed yesterday to stage convoys along 11 main city roads that the administration has declared off-limits to them.
“We will teach the government a lesson — that every road belongs to the people,” protest leader Nattawut Saikua said.
About 1,000 riot police and soldiers faced off against a similar number of protesters as luxury hotels in the area barricaded their doors and guests took photographs from a safe distance.
Some of the protesters clambered atop police trucks parked across the road to block the demonstrators. The light rail that runs above Rajdamri Road was shut down by the operators.
“We were going to see a movie,” said Les Stanley, a 55-year-old Australian resident watching the protest in Bangkok. “Oh well, this is more interesting than a movie.”
The government restated that it wanted to solve the crisis peacefully.
“Under the current climate, many citizens wouldn’t want violence or confrontation to occur. And we’ve been mindful of that concern,” government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said as the clashes began.
Business leaders have called for an end to the crisis, predicting even greater shocks to the economy and tourism if it persists.
More than a dozen shopping malls were set to close their doors for the fourth day in Bangkok’s luxury shopping district, which includes five-star hotels like the Four Seasons, the Hyatt and InterContinental. Guests at the hotels were checking out in greater numbers.
“The protests have hit thousands of entrepreneurs as well as their staff and employees because [the area] is a prime shopping and tourist location,” said a joint statement by three business associations in the district, which estimated losses since the occupation began at up to 900 million baht (US$28 million).
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